Introduction

Many critics have noted the objectification of women by the male gaze in Western art and popular culture, which erodes women’s agency by positioning their worth in relation to external validation based on their physical appearance and youth (Berger, 1972, 2008; Frost, 2005). The impact of neoliberalism, which advocates unchecked free-market capitalism and the pervasive commodification of many aspects of life (Brown, 2015), is evident in much of the prevailing beauty industry, which frequently undermines women in various cultures by promoting an ideal of flawless beauty that centers on youthfulness, while attaching shame and invisibility to wrinkles, grey hair, and other physical signs of aging (Clarke & Griffin, 2008; Wolf, 2013). Within consumer culture, which places high value on youthfulness and physical appearance, wrinkles are widely regarded as a signal of aging that must be vigorously combated using a range of expensive products and procedures, such as pricey creams, Botox injections, and plastic surgeries, the incidence of which has been steadily increasing as many women feel immense pressure to maintain their youthful appearance, at least until retirement age (Lemperle et al., 2001).

The pervasive influence of neoliberalism, with its emphasis on consumerism, raises questions about women’s agency and choice (Rose, 2017). Various feminist artists target these oppressive pressures. These artists have been a force to be reckoned with since the early 1970s, when they began to defy sexist artistic conventions that undermine women (Brodsky & Olin, 2008). Rejecting the concept of “art for art’s sake,” which holds that art is valuable in itself and should be independent from external purposes like politics or morality (Wikström, 2023), they base their work on political expressions of women’s intersectionality and social positions. Artists such as Cindy Sherman, Martha Wilson, and Suzy Lake challenge the male gaze and its objectification of women. Through self-representational photography, these artists critique cultural perceptions that belittle women and offer alternative, dynamic portrayals of aging bodies and femininity. For instance, Cindy Sherman has created self-portraits that portray various aging characters, highlighting the societal pressures and expectations placed on older women. Similarly, through self-portraiture in various personas, Martha Wilson explores the intersection of aging, gender, and societal roles, critically reflecting on identity and social constructs. Suzy Lake employs close-up images of her own face, prominently displaying features like facial hair, wrinkles, and stained teeth that challenge conventional beauty standards. These artists confront the cultural invisibility of aging women and challenge both hegemonic ideals of femininity and the static, unchanging artistic representations of aging.

By refusing to create works that perpetuate the esthetic status quo, these artists defy hegemonic conceptions that women’s value lies in their youth (Meagher, 2014). Instead, their artworks offer new means to change the paradigm. In this way, they embrace Audre Lorde’s claim that “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house” (Lorde, 2007; 113). Lorde argued from her standpoint as a Black woman that marginalized communities cannot bring about effective change by using the same “tools” and systems that oppress them. This argument has resonated with women from various ethnicities and other potentially marginalized groups and has become a cornerstone of feminist thought, providing a strategic approach to confronting patriarchal oppression (Brayer-Garb & Baum, 2006). Within a broader context, Lorde’s metaphor embodies key tenets of radical feminism: identifying and opposing male dominance and changing existing social structures (Thompson, 2001). Lorde’s conceptualization is intriguing in its exploration of the potential engagement with the structures that envelop us, and the strategies employed to confront and reshape them, ultimately fostering the promotion of gender equality.

In alignment with this, feminist art commonly aims to disrupt established norms that objectify women across diverse social groups and confine them to rigid ideals. Within the context of a neoliberal consumer culture that thrives on consumption and commodification, a crucial question arises: Can feminist art effectively challenge its fundamental values by utilizing its very same language and tools? In essence, can art, born within an oppressive system, leverage its mechanisms to dismantle its power and forge new possibilities?

This visual analysis study explores Noa Zilberman’s “The Wrinkles Jewelry Collection,” which confronts conventional notions of beauty and femininity associated with aging. The collection consists of gold-plated brass objects, such as the “Forehead Tiara” and “Cleavage,” which represent wrinkles, that the artist is photographed wearing. The study examines the intersections of age and gender depicted in the artwork, with a focus on how Wrinkles subverts the Western youth beauty ideal from within.

Beauty, gender, and age in a neoliberal world

Across cultures, women from various ethnicities have been found to be more susceptible to norms concerning their appearance than men (Puvia & Vaes, 2013). In contrast to men, women may internalize the external point of view directed towards them and behave towards themselves as objects that can be appreciated by and through an external view because of the prevalent objectification of women in media culture (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997; Aharoni Lir and Ayalon, 2024). Hence, there is a widespread agreement that women are frequently forced to respond to or negotiate with narrowing perceptions of reality and their expected place within it (Berger, 2008; Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005).

The postfeminist gaze, in conjunction with the male gaze, compels women to strive for an ever-evolving ideal of femininity, perpetuating the scrutiny of female appearance and reinforcing both beauty standards and the continuous labor required to attain them (Riley et al., 2016). While some scholars contend that these standards are not merely personal preferences but are instead socio-culturally and politically constructed, pathologizing women’s bodies and sustaining oppressive norms perpetuated by the media (Bordo, 2004), others, while acknowledging feminist critiques of beauty norms, argue that for many women, engagement in cosmetic procedures constitutes an exercise of agency and can be perceived as an act of empowerment (Davis, 1995).

This state of affairs can also be seen as being reflected at the intersection of gender and age, where, in the prevailing commercialized youth-ideal culture, the ideal woman is a young one, with no signs of aging; her youthful appearance is presented as an object of universal desire (Katz, 2001). This perception is widely reproduced in media culture, where older age is associated with decline, deterioration, ugliness, deficit, and passivity as part of a visual culture that inflicts a youthful, prevalent gaze (Samuel 2021; Morganroth Gullette 2017).

Although youth is idealized in the case of both men and women, women from various cultures are socially pressured to maintain their youthful appearance rather than “surrender” to the signs of aging starting from a very early age (Clarke & Griffin, 2008). Consistently, although messages about successful aging and pressures to conceal signs of aging are addressed to both men and women, ageism and sexism intersect in such ways that women are more likely to be pressured to conform to youthful ideal beauty standards (Krekula & Wilińska, 2018).

Despite this notable intersectionality, feminist studies have largely overlooked older age, often classifying it as just one more form of oppression (Calasanti et al., 2006), though there is currently greater recognition of this intersection (Chrisler, 2021). Feminists’ past failure to acknowledge the oppression of older women can be seen as a form of ageism directed toward women by other women (Copper, 1988). Additionally, efforts to eradicate discrimination based on age have an additional obstacle in that many older adults exhibit self-ageist thoughts and behaviors. This hampers the development of a positive collective identity that incorporates old age (Blanche & Fernández-Ardèvol, 2022) and limits the ability to act effectively against ageism.

Cultural gerontology highlights the significance of women’s attractiveness as a key cultural value that plays a pivotal role in shaping stereotypes associated with aging, particularly among women. It also influences the opportunities available for older individuals to actively engage in society (Edmondson, 2013). While aging is a fundamental experience in human life that provides opportunities for growth, transformation, and even liberation from societal constraints, older women face an unjust double standard in a society that often values women’s youth above all else and views them as less attractive as they age (de Beauvoir, 1972). As Gullette (2017) notes, “the age gaze fetishizes perfect skin and mortifyingly magnifies innocuous departures from the ideal body and face” (p. 26).

The advertising world plays a key role in promoting ageist perceptions. Concurrently, many commercials encourage taking action to improve the appearance of the skin and assume that it can be restored to its former tightness and elasticity using anti-aging products that aim to blur signs of aging (Roy & Harwood, 1997). The comparison with countless unrealistic representations of beauty in the media, which are often based on white and cis-normative standards of beauty (Costanza-Chock, 2020), often leads women to feel embarrassed by or dissatisfied with their appearance and to worry that they do not meet the commercialized, fabricated standard (Puvia & Vaes, 2013; Wolf, 2013). Hence, women’s aging is commonly perceived as something that should be avoided and combated at all costs (Calasanti, 2005; Gendron, 2022). Such a one-sided representation of feminine beauty leaves little room for diversity and the representation of marginalized identities.

The common beauty industry reference to “anti-aging” raises the flag of the fight against growing old (Smirnova, 2012). In its most literal sense, this phrase suggests that aging is a negative phenomenon that must be countered and negated as much as possible (Calasanti, 2005). From a practical perspective, the anti-aging industry offers ways to fill in wrinkles and improve skin deterioration and sunspots using upscale products (Calasanti et al., 2018). The industry presents old age as a phenomenon that must be fought to ensure eternal youth and an ageless existence (Katz, 2001). Many, if not most, cosmetic products in the anti-aging industry are extremely expensive, making this industry a billion-dollar-a-year business (Weintraub, 2010); some of these products actually contain gold, a substance that has been thought to possess cosmetic properties since at least the days of Cleopatra.

The anti-aging industry is part of the Silver Economy, so-called because it centers on older adults, or “silver-haired” people (Iparraguirre, 2019). The beauty industry and the youthful beauty ideal are not gender-neutral. Instead, they place mainly women under increasing pressure to conceal their chronological age and to appear younger to maintain their social esthetic capital as long as possible, starting from a very young age (Symonds & Holland, 2008).

The art world does not provide refuge from gender and age inequalities. Images of older women that are presented as repelling are not rare and can be seen in classical and current artworks.Footnote 1 Additionally, it has been argued that the significant increase in youth culture since the late 1950s and the concomitant youth beauty ideal have led to a decrease in the age of women portrayed in Western art (Dekel, 2020).

Dalton (1995) believed that the traditional art historical canon preserves and enhances unequal power relations between the sexes. According to Owens (1990), these canonical representations allow for limited readings based on a single subject: that of the man. According to Mulvey (1989), this can well be seen in mid-century Hollywoodian films that are organized around the viewing pleasure of male heterosexual audiences, with women being positioned as objects of the fetishizing male gaze. Later critics have added that the experience of being looked at in these contexts primarily refers to white, conventionally attractive, able-bodied, and notably young women (Meagher, 2014).

In contrast to Mulvey’s view, several visual studies scholars have argued that it is fictitious that women do not want to be looked at, or that there is no agency or pleasure in being seen (Meagher, 2014). This is especially notable regarding Black women, who more often face their invisibility in the art world and the mass media, where women who do not conform to the traditional standard of White, able-bodied, young, and heterosexual are less represented (Deliovsky 2008; Pollock 1992).

Despite the continued dominance of the prevailing focus of a visual culture that ideologizes youth (Morganroth Gullette, 2017; Fairclough-Isaacs, 2014; Aharoni Lir and Ayalon, 2021), recent years have witnessed a shift towards increased visibility of older women in mainstream media (Shimoni, 2023). This phenomenon is part of the “silvering screen,” which points to Hollywood’s casting of older characters to cater to mature audiences (Chiveres, 2011; Dolan, 2018). It is also present in magazines, newspapers, and advertisements, where it has become commonplace to see older actresses and celebrities like Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, and Joan Didion (Shimoni, 2023; Dolan, 2018; Jermyn, 2020; Jerslev, 2018). It is important to note that this heightened presence of older women is inspired by neoliberal values and traditions, as older women are used to attract other older women to purchase goods and services in celebration of a healthy lifestyle and “successful aging”. Moreover, in countries like Israel, they are sometimes perceived more as tokens rather than genuine change (Aharoni Lir and Ayalon, 2022a; Aharoni Lir and Ayalon, 2022b).

Images aimed at portraying “successful aging,” which has become more common, typically feature well-off, attractive, and active older individuals, who are portrayed mostly in advertisements for luxury products. Many of the ads perpetuate long-standing beauty standards, with young-appearing, slim, athletic, White, and middle-class aging celebrities (LaWare and Moutsatsos, 2013). These portrayals create an unrealistic and unattainable standard of aging that excludes most older adults (Gullette 2017). These images can often be considered part of the neoliberal age, which reduces democracy to individual consumer choices and converts social problems into individual problems with market solutions (Brown, 2015).

This implies that in the neoliberal era, the idea of free choice can be understood as taking on the responsibilities of free consumers. This involves seizing control of decisions from matters like reproduction to nutrition within the marketplace of available options. It also entails shouldering additional responsibilities for personal challenges through private insurance for health and old age. The irony lies in the belief that all these actions must be undertaken in the name of freedom (Rose, 2017).

While some photographers and artists aim to defy these norms, their work often falls short of achieving a truly radical impact. As Kirsty Fairclough-Isaacs (2015) remarks, “Through advertising, marketing, the visibility of youthful older people in celebrity culture, and through the promotion of a lifestyle trajectory that suggests there is no need to succumb to old age anymore, as the technologies exist to stave it off, or at least keep it at bay” (p. 365).

In contrast to the neoliberal agenda, feminist artists manage to undermine the traditional view of the aging female body, as can be noticed in the works of performance artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Rachel Rosenthal, and Nettie Harris, who embrace and showcase their aged bodies in a playful, theatrical, flamboyant, and ironic manner. These artists present their aged bodies as sites of continued creativity, sexuality, and power, and offer alternative narratives of aging that celebrate rather than erase the older female form. Their performances and artworks invite viewers to reconsider their own internalized ageism and recognize the beauty and vitality present in bodies of all ages (Woodward, 2006), without adhering to consumer culture codes and common representations of “successful aging”.

The current study

For this study, we employed a visual analysis to explore Noa Zilberman’s Wrinkles Jewelry Collection (Wrinkles). We examined how her artwork corresponds with the prevalent youth beauty ideal by subverting the value system of the consumer culture on which it is founded.

The artwork

The artwork, The Wrinkles Jewelry Collection, also known as Wrinkles, was created by artist Noa Zilberman as part of her freshman project in the class “B’Tikkun” [which means “in repair” in Hebrew] during her studies at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem. The artwork carries a political and artistic message and was not intended for purchase or use as wearable items. In 2011, the work was exhibited for the first time at the “Tikkun” exhibition at the Bezalel Gallery in Tel Aviv. In 2012, it was displayed at the “Foreign Body” exhibition by curator Jennifer-Navva Milliken, in the “Transgressive” category, which involved objects that challenge common beauty conceptions. Later, the work won great success and was presented in leading museums.Footnote 2

Wrinkles’ artwork imparts valuable lessons that correspond with conventional notions of beauty and femininity associated with aging. Through the unconventional medium of jewelry, the work provides a unique perspective on the intersection of age and gender, disrupting mainstream representations. By presenting wrinkles, often stigmatized by conventional beauty standards, as a platform on which beauty is presented, the artwork confronts the youth ideal and introduces an alternative narrative that embraces and celebrates the natural aging process.

In this manner, the artwork articulates a redefinition of beauty and femininity, portraying wrinkles as artistic expressions rather than imperfections. This approach allows for broader notions of aging and femininity to emerge. Notably, the innovative use of jewelry, a medium uncommonly associated with these themes, sets the artwork apart. In these terms, Noa Zilberman’s work stands out for its distinct contribution to addressing the complexities of femininity and aging in a manner that diverges from traditional artistic expressions. For a detailed overview of the artwork, please see Appendix A.

This artwork was selected because it stood out in its originality and innovation, inspiring the authors to consider it a statement beyond the obvious of being an artwork. Although the artist is an Israeli woman, examining this artwork within the Israeli context, it becomes evident that aging Israeli women face challenges similar to those faced by their Western counterparts (Ayalon and Aharoni Lir, 2022). Moreover, while Israeli women have some unique experiences related to the context in which they live (Lavee & Katz, 2003; Aharoni Lir, 2025; Aharoni Lir, 2023), it is clear that Noa Zilberman’s work offers a nuanced exploration of femininity and aging, bridging personal narratives with broader Western discourses on beauty and age.

Research method

This study utilizes visual analysis to explore the esthetic components and symbolic significance of The Wrinkles Jewelry Collection. Employing this method enables the unveiling of subtle details, emphasizing the contribution of visual elements to the broader narrative of hegemonic norms, particularly those associated with gender and aging as they are depicted in the artwork (Barnet, 2011; Sayre, 2008). This choice was inspired by the fact that Zilberman’s work is a work of art, created with the purpose of being evaluated visually. Moreover, there is plenty of research to show that the intersection of age and gender often puts women at a disadvantage, especially concerning visual signs of aging, which are seen as a decline among women (Clarke & Griffin, 2008).

To examine the question of how Wrinkles’ artwork challenges the values of the Western youth beauty ideal from within and to gain a deeper understanding of the visual choices and design elements in Zilberman’s work, we adopted an analysis model that views the artwork as a set of constructed objects that hold a stable meaning that can be explored by studying their interconnectivity while applying an interpretive viewpoint (Barnet, 2011). We analyzed the titles and elements of the work: the material and type of jewelry, various aspects of the photographs and videoart, how the artist is represented in the footage, and the ritualistic practices the exhibition documents. Our analysis transitioned from the descriptive to the interpretive, examining the social and cultural context of the exhibition, as well as feminist and gerontological literature on the gendered value of youthful appearance.

Findings

Our analysis was guided by an exploration of how the artwork negotiates dominant social, cultural, and economic norms in relation to Western beauty ideals, which privilege youth and smoothness while marginalizing signs of aging. Through this process, we identified recurring visual and material elements that simultaneously reinforce and challenge dominant esthetic conventions. This dialectical tension shaped our analysis, leading us to define two interwoven themes that, drawing upon Audre Lorde’s claim (2007), demonstrate how the work negotiates the tension between complicity and resistance. The first theme, Using the Master’s Tools, consists of three sections: The choice of jewelry as an artistic subject, the choice of gold as the material for the jewelry in the work, and the use of cropped close-up photographs of the artist’s face. The second theme, Dismantling the Master’s House, consists of two sections: the choice of the wrinkle element as the exhibition’s focal point and reclaiming the power of the gaze.

Using the master’s tools

This category addresses how the artwork responds to commercialized social aspects, such as commodification, consumption, and commercialization, and how it seemingly relates to perceptions of femininity and beauty in consumer culture.

Jewelry as the subject of the art

Zilberman’s choice of using jewelry as the subject of the artwork can be seen as a reference to materialistic culture. Gold jewelry universally connotes status and prestige and references shopping experiences in many countries and traditions, ranging from Saudi Arabia to the United States (Salamah, 2022; Ahde-Deal, 2013). Thus, at first glance, the exhibition meets the perception of art as something that can correspond with the world of advertising in its celebration of private capital and its emphasis on a sense of ownership (Berger, 2008; Duvdevan, 2007).

While women’s jewelry often serves as symbols of cultural and familial ties, security, and wealth (Ahde-Deal, 2013), it can also be seen as a reflection of the oppression that exists in patriarchal societies, where women are expected to adorn themselves to enhance their physical appearance and attract the attention of men who tend to hold higher social positions (Wolf, 2013). Choosing to focus on representations of women photographed wearing jewelry may thus seem, at face value, to correspond with existing hegemonic, commercialized values.

Choice of material

Gold has been used for symbolic purposes throughout human history. Historically, it has been used to embody and exemplify the sacred authority of the monarchy and church. Many of the world’s sacred objects have been crafted from gold, and it has been incorporated into the clothing and jewelry worn by kings and queens throughout history. In various historical periods, such as ancient Egypt and the Kingdom of Castile in the fourteenth century, royal family members were the only ones permitted to use gold jewelry or clothing made of gold. In modern times, gold’s sacred power has been transformed into a different kind of power, the high price of which continues to serve as an expression of wealth and a representation of the elite’s power (Bernstein, 2012).

Zilberman’s choice of a composition made entirely of gold is a response to a world of barter, commodities, and valuable jewels, which confer an aura of status on those who wear them. At the same time, it enhances the connection between artwork and merchandise by alluding to jewelry as a salable product. Wrinkles consist of gold pieces arranged to be placed over parts of a woman’s face and body that typically become lined with age. Zilberman’s use of gold as a filler for wrinkles mimics the way in which gold, marketed as having anti-aging properties, is used by the cosmetics industry; she seemingly fills wrinkles with gold, just as enthusiastic consumers do worldwide (Cao et al., 2021). However, in this case, the gold is intended to accentuate and highlight wrinkles, drawing the gaze to them, in contrast to the gold marketed by the anti-aging industry, which aims to smooth out wrinkles and make them disappear.

Cropped close-up photographs

Close-up shots of women’s body parts, such as lips and breasts, are commonly seen as reflecting the objectification of women in much mass media, perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards and reducing women not only to mere objects of desire but even to mere parts of objects (Bordo, 2004). The photographs in Zilberman’s exhibit include closeups of half of her face and shots that are closely cropped around her neck and her cleavage. These representations seem to connect the artworks with commercial advertising that objectifies by presenting women as body parts. However, as discussed below, according to our analysis, Zilberman’s representations are intended for subjectification rather than objectification, relating to her as a whole person.

Dismantling the master’s house

This category addresses reclaiming the perception of aging femininity as powerful while challenging unequal power dynamics between the sexes.

Wrinkles as a focal point

The focal point of Wrinkles reveals a subversive act of “culture jamming,” which seeks to disrupt or subvert the messages of mainstream culture and advertising in several ways. First, the beauty industry’s focus on idealized images of youthful beauty produces both overt and covert messages that shame older people, which manifest, among other things, in a perception that wrinkles must be hidden or erased (Clarke & Griffin, 2008). Zilberman’s exhibition confronts this shaming experience by openly and directly referencing the subject of shame, focusing on it as a source of reflection and appreciation in the title of the work, as well as in its content, which refers to wrinkles as “gold-plated jewelry.”

Second, the way wrinkles are depicted in the artwork enhances their value and merit by associating them with gold jewels. This comparison bestows wrinkles with the same sense of status and prestige that is associated with gold jewelry in various cultures and traditions (Salamah, 2022; Ahde-Deal, 2013). By presenting wrinkles as something to be worn with pride rather than hidden or erased, the artwork subverts the dominant message in Western beauty culture that wrinkles are undesirable and unattractive.

Reclaiming the power of the gaze

The concept of the male gaze highlights the unequal power dynamic between genders, in which women are often objectified and marginalized in various cultural representations, such as art, films, magazines, and commercials. This oppressive subject-object relationship produces a neutralized view of women that deprives them of agency and their position as human subjects with the ability to shape their own lives (Berger, 2008; Mulvey, 1989; Bordo, 2004).

As noted in the previous section, “using the master’s tools,” Zilberman’s work seemingly conforms to the objectifying gaze and to a female commercialization standpoint; this is due to her use of close-up photography and cropped images of herself wearing jewelry, with photographs that show detached parts of her body: “Forehead Tiara,” depicting her eyes and forehead; “Cleavage,” which centers on her cleavage; and “Multistrand Choker,” which centers on her neck. These photographic techniques imitate conventions of advertising, which suggest that a woman’s role is to serve as an object that pleases the male gaze.

However, the artwork also defies the representation of women as passive objects of the heterosexual male gaze in several ways. First, the cropping of the figure in the photographs is revisited and completed in the video, which shows her complete face. This challenges the convention of reducing women’s bodies to fragmented and objectified parts and underscores Zilberman’s presence as a complete being.

Second, the artist disrupts the traditional gendered norms of appearance by not adhering to the expectations of feminine beauty in a commercialized society. She presents herself without the usual feminine adornments, such as carefully done hair and makeup, and avoids posing for the camera with a smile. By doing so, she subverts the objectifying gaze that demands that women conform to a narrow ideal of youthful beauty.

Third, the artist’s challenge to ageist beauty standards is demonstrated in the act of putting on the jewelry. Rather than being a passive victim of her own aging, she actively adorns herself with wrinkles as a way to assert her identity and confront societal norms of Western beauty. In addition, the visibility of a midlife artist is a powerful statement that also defies societal norms and promotes the representation and empowerment of women. Although this visibility is of an artist in midlife, it corresponds with the works of artists such as Rosy Martin, Kay Goodridge, Anne Noggle, Jacqueline Hayden, Melanie Manchot, Cindy Sherman, Suzy Lake, and Martha Wilson, who explore femininity and aging from various perspectives, such as self-representation through photography (Gear, 2005; Meagher, 2014).

Finally, the act of looking directly at the camera is a performative gesture that shows presence while challenging the power dynamics of the traditional male gaze in a manner that corresponds with Morganroth Gullette’s (2017) suggestions of healing the “visual pathology” and allowing photographs of age that can captivate viewers’ interest and identification. This is also related to the concept of “feminist aging,” signifying the ability to create representations encompassing gender and sexuality as an enduring locus of identity (Woodward, 2006, p. 162). It is thus possible to say that unlike prevailing images of older women, which enhance the neoliberal concept of “choice” as one that centers on consumption and the sense of life in the “here and now” (Shimoni, 2023), artwork can enhance one’s sense of agency and choice by fostering a reflective process that transcends the present moment, a necessary step in actualizing the freedom principle. This occurs because artwork encourages reflection on one’s situation, helping individuals make conscious decisions about how to act. By providing a space to step outside of one’s immediate environment, artwork serves as a catalyst for reflection, allowing individuals to envision alternative possibilities (Archer, 2003).

The possible sense of agency in the video art is shared between the artist, who positions herself in a way that suits her, the photographer (in this case, a male), who captures the image, and the viewer (of whatever gender), who interprets it. In this sense, the artwork invites the viewer to participate in a dialogue about the representation of women in art and society.

Discussion

It is easy to understand why Lorde’s (2007) statement that “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house” has become a well-known and widely used phrase, particularly within the feminist discourse of resistance and intersectionality, as it highlights the necessity of approaching activism in a way that challenges existing power structures.

This notion is fundamental to the understanding that gender equality requires radical changes in social structures. Following Zilberman’s artwork, it is therefore inspiring and aspiring to think that many roads can bring about meaningful changes, including acting from within the existing social structures. It is, however, possible to ask to what extent the ability to work within the system is based on one’s identity, such as age, ethnicity, or sexual preference. In the case of Zilberman, who is a young White artist, one question could be: Would an artist with darker skin, descended from Islamic countries, create a similar impact with the same tools? In other words, it is possible that the symbolic capital of whiteness enhances the ability to use and subvert the master’s tools, given that white women are often seen as more ‘at home’ within the master’s domain, so to speak (McIntosh, 2003).

In this study, we examined whether artistic expression has the power to use oppressive practices in a manner that dismantles them from their original power and conceptualizes something new. Our analysis of the work Wrinkles answers this question with the insight that it is possible to use the master’s tools – that is, the existing mechanisms that cement unequal power relations, including capitalistic perceptions that are often used to objectify and commercialize images of women – to confront the master’s house, namely, to strengthen different stances and perceptions of reality that are founded on a value system that gives women agency and power even as they age.

The analysis of the findings led to the formation of a model of artistic feminist ability to precisely use the master’s tools – the materialism, gender power relations, and the prevailing youthful beauty model of consumer-based society – to defy common hegemonic axioms. We chose four central elements the artist used in this process as examples of the discourse produced through Wrinkles:

Reclamation - a cultural process by which the individual, the community, or a social group, restores a sense of power by using words, expressions, or objects that were once used to shame and degrade them. It can include claiming the authority to name and describe the world from women’s points of view (Godrej, 2011) and even more specifically from older women’s points of view, as is currently done by some activist groups of older women (Sawchuk, 2009). In this instance, Zilberman apprehends a physical aspect that the existing culture relates to as something that women of all ages must conceal, disguise, and eliminate, and openly displays it by directing an artistic spotlight onto it – putting it in a new light. In this manner, she transforms the original cultural or social meaning ascribed to wrinkles, as a source of shame and a thing to be concealed, into a source of visibility and pride. In this process, she does not dismiss or oppose materialistic culture but redirects its meaning in a manner that imparts value to what was once considered a devaluing signifier when associated with aging women.

Agency positioning – in contrast to customary visual representations of wrinkled women as a signifier of poverty and helplessness and of the old as a “dejected body without agency” (Morganroth Gullette 2017, p. 26), Zilberman’s subverts popular commercialized characteristics to enhance a position of active presence. She places herself in a position of resisting normative injunctions that govern aging feminine subjects today. The wrinkles enhance her defiance of the commercialized social norms. Their use as decorative objects made of gold further strengthens and emphasizes her presence, as does her direct look at the camera. Zilberman, in fact, actively takes ownership of the wrinkles that in mainstream culture are still often perceived as shameful and worthy of concealment or as features that only celebrities can be depicted with within mass media as part of their cool appearance (Jerslev, 2018).

Ownership. The presentation of wrinkles in this piece leads to a transformative process from a biological aspect of life to a social one. The wrinkles that form on the body are the product of a naturally occurring biological process, one in which the woman is in a passive position. By turning the wrinkles into a raw material—a decorative element that serves as a jewel—the artist gains control over them. She is the one who creates the wrinkles, and she is the one who performs the act of wearing them, in a way that allows her to take ownership of them. In this manner, the artist strengthens her place as an active subject who owns her presence in the world.

Placing a price tag on the labor of beauty. Zilberman’s choice of gold-plating her pieces is not accidental. This rare element is universally perceived as having considerable value. Similarly, the anti-aging beauty industry has tremendous economic value in a market that hungers for new products and solutions to the “war on aging” (Petersen & Seear, 2009). Zilberman’s work plays on the idea of “Gold in Grey,” a term coined by Minkler (1989) to describe the profitable “elderly market.” Zilberman’s work presents the inconceivable price (financial as well) of enslaving oneself to the beauty industry in light of the inability (or desire, in this case) to hide the signifiers of time. The work metaphorically emphasizes the financial cost of subjugation to the beauty industry and offers an alternative to concealing wrinkles by proudly displaying them with the use of gold.

It can be argued that Wrinkles demonstrates how art can reflect everyday experiences related to feminism, gerontology, and aging concepts and theories. One of the implications of this research is the understanding that it is possible to transform situations, experiences, and interpretations that result in the shaming and subjugation of aging women into potentially empowering ones that acknowledge their agency.

In this work, we analyzed Wrinkles as an example of the power of the creative act to turn the existing world into one wherein aging women have power, claiming beauty in places that our culture often marks as shameful. Wrinkles showcases how even commercialized consumer tools, which are typically used to objectify and marginalize women, can be repurposed to foster liberation.

The paper adds to the existing literature by exploring Zilberman’s subversive approach to challenging negative perceptions of aging and beauty culture, and forming a new outlook on age and time, in a manner that uses existing “tools” in a new way. This suggests not only that it is possible to use the “tools” of an existing mindset to bestow new meanings but also raises the question of whether the Master’s tools become our own when we appropriate, reuse, and convert them to make a feminist statement. Additionally, the question remains as to who can utilize these “tools” and to what extent marginalized identities might be as effective in bringing about change from within the system itself. In addition, our focus of inquiry in this analysis was the artwork, rather than the people who made it (including the photographer) or the public perception of the work (the audience). Further inquiry would help differentiate these various aspects of the artwork.